Centracity

Centracity is a conceptual term in urban studies that denotes the degree to which a city's activities—such as employment, commerce, culture, and public services—are concentrated in its central area relative to the periphery. It is used to describe, compare, and model how centralization influences travel behavior, land use, and economic performance.

Within urban theory, centracity is related to monocentric and polycentric urban forms. In a monocentric city, a dominant core concentrates most daytime activity and draws a large share of trips. In polycentric systems, activity is distributed among multiple centers, reducing reliance on a single hub. Centracity is typically measured with indicators such as core employment density, central retail floor area, daytime population, and average travel time or accessibility to the core, as well as network-based centrality metrics.

Applications include guiding transit investments, housing and land-use policies, and public service provision. High centracity can support efficient public transit, walkability, and agglomeration economies, but may also exacerbate congestion, housing pressures, and inequality if growth is not inclusive or is overly centralized. Planning strategies may aim to bolster secondary centers to balance growth or to strengthen a resilient core through transit-oriented development.

Critiques emphasize that centracity alone does not determine urban success and that overemphasis on a single center can reduce resilience to shocks. In practice, planners balance centracity with polycentric development, accessibility, and inclusivity, seeking configurations that optimize mobility, economic vitality, and quality of life.